Futura Plus is a Serbian wholesale, retail and distribution company, selling consumer goods, newspapers, non-alcoholic beverages and confectionery. In 2006, Futura plus opened the first of its Minut2 retail outlets.
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History
The company was established in November 2006 by an integration of four Serbian socially owned companies that were unproductive at the time: the kiosk chains of “Duvan”, “Politika prodaja”, “Borba” and “Duvan promet”.
The merger was the result of a joint enterprise of EMI Denmark holding (owned by Stanko Subotić), Belgrade, Serbia-based D Trade Ltd., and German media company WAZ-Mediengruppe. In 2008 WAZ Media Group left Futura Plus immediately after the Serbian Prosecution raised accusations against Subotić.
Business activities
Futura Plus conducts retail sales through Minut2, kiosks, regional and depot centres, and wholesale operations (suppliers, publishers, advertising companies, purchases) and services in the fields of marketing, distribution and transport. With over 7,500 sq meters of sales space, supported by 1,200 points of sale and approximately 4,000 employees, Futura plus sells 700 titles of domestic and foreign publications, 640 types of kiosk goods as well as 880,000 copies of newspapers and magazines per day, relying on 200 transport vehicles and 111 suppliers.
Minut2 outlets
Sometimes accompanied by cafes, these resemble the outlets known in the United States as convenience stores, and in Great Britain as "corner shops". The shops typically offer a wider product range than kiosks, with a shelf design designed to allow a better view of the commodities on sale. The first outlet was opened in January 2007, with a total of 20 operated nationally by August of the same year.
Suspension of distribution
On June 4, 2009, Futura Plus minimized the distribution of the Večernje Novosti daily by lowering the number of distributed copies to 2,240 copies from the usual 54,000 copies per day. This followed the decision of Novosti AD to appeal in court for the payment of Futura Plus's outstanding debt towards the editor. It was claimed that the outstanding 90-days past due debt towards the company reached 53 million Serbian dinars. At the same time it was claimed that the total debt of Futura Plus to the Media Association of Serbia companies (including non-past due) was at 180-250 million Serbian dinars.
The Media Association of Serbia made a decision to suspend all print media sales and halt the distribution of its editions to Futura Plus as of September 14, 2009. The decision was made jointly by Politika Newspapers and Magazines, Novosti AD, Ringier Srbija, Color Press Group, Press Publishing Group, Adria Media, Dnevnik (Novi Sad), and Ekonomist. Without Politika and Sports Journal on Futura Plus kiosks. The decision was reached after it was concluded that the company was endangering the activities of the print media in Serbia due to the considerable outstanding debt to the members of the association.
Community work
Several times a year, Futura Plus organises charity campaigns. In the summer of 2007, at the initiative of the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation (RTS) and the Belgrade Chronicle television programme, swimming pool tickets were bought for Belgrade children who were unable to spend their vacations by the seaside. Introduced with the slightly older children in mind, the Summer Ski Adventures campaign gave Belgraders an opportunity to try water skiing for free at Ada Ciganlija.